ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Over the past few years I have come to learn that without a core group of supporters, the job of being an author (and all the self-promotion that goes along with that) would be impossible for me. The time, skills, and knowledge required to pull off big promotions and even bigger stories is immense. So it is with great appreciation that I thank the following folks, my core.

Though I’m sure my twists on science sometimes make him cringe, Todd Wielgos, senior research scientist with MS Chemistry, makes my genetics tinkering not just believable, but also cutting edge. You make me look smarter than I am.

Major Ed Humm, U.S.M.C. (Ret.), your advice on everything from military tactics to weapons and even nit-pick details like foreign uniforms, is invaluable. Brigadier General Anthony Tata, your insights into the world of Delta and knowledge of field gear has been exactly what I needed to keep things real.

Stanley Tremblay (aka Rook) and Walter Elly (aka sucka) you make PR, web analytics, and social marketing fun and challenging. You are also the best idea soundboards an author could have. Your unceasing excitement about the books and other media projects I dream up is contagious and often keeps me on track when I would normally be in a slump.

Roger Brodeur, you are one of my biggest supporters, my favorite father-in-law, and the best grammar/typo checker I know.

Scott Miller and the gang at Trident Media Group, your advice is valued and judgment sound. With the exciting projects we have brewing; I look forward to a long and prosperous journey with you.

And now for the folks who truly make dreams come true. Peter Wolverton, you’re an awesome editor whose insights are sometimes brutal, but always appreciated. Readers have noted how much better the Chess Team books are, and that is in part thanks to you. Elizabeth Byrne, an e-mail from you is always good news, and I greatly appreciate your quick replies and diligent answers to my many questions. Rafal Gibek, production editor, and Christina Mac-Donald, copy editor, you took my rough prose and made them shine. And Jerry Todd, as an artist myself, I am a harsh judge of cover art and I am thrilled with what you have done for Instinct. A hearty thank you to all of you.

And finally, to the people who are always last in my acknowledgments, but first in my life: my wife, Hilaree, whose years of sacrifice helped make this dream of being an author possible. My children, Aquila, Solomon, and Norah, while I spend my days dreaming up tortures and tension you fill my mornings and evenings with creativity, joy, and love. You are the ying to my writing yang. Love you guys.

There is no law of progress. Our future is in our own hands, to make or to mar. It will be an uphill fight to the end, and would we have it otherwise? Let no one suppose that evolution will ever exempt us from struggles. “You forget,” said the Devil, with a chuckle, “that I have been evolving too.”

—William Ralph Inge

Man . . . is a tame or civilized animal; nevertheless, he requires proper instruction and a fortunate nature, and then of all animals he becomes the most divine and most civilized; but if he be insufficiently or ill-educated he is the most savage of earthly creatures.

—Plato

Life is a sexually transmitted disease.

—R. D. Laing